Macronutrients

Macronutrients are the main nutrients that make up the foods we eat. There are three, and you’ve probably heard of them before:

Carbohydrates

Protein

Fat

Most foods contain a mixture of more than one macronutrient, but are generally classified as the one they contain most of.

Carbohydrate

Many people immediately think of breads, pasta, rice and potatoes when someone says carbohydrate, and they’re not wrong, but many other foods are carbs too:

Breads, rice, pasta, oats, quinoa, couscous

Starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn and pumpkin)

All other vegetables (broccoli, lettuce, tomato, carrot, peas)

Beans and pulses (chickpeas, baked beans, lentils)

Some dairy foods such as milk and yoghurt

Fruit

Sugar and honey

Carbohydrates are our bodies’ preferred source of energy, so this macronutrient should make up a lot of our diet.

Protein

Protein is mostly used in our body to build and repair muscle and tissue, but has many other important functions as well. Protein foods include:

Meat and meat products (beef, chicken, lamb, pork or kangaroo)

Fish and seafood

Eggs

Dairy food such as milk and yoghurt (also carbohydrate)

Beans and pulses (also carbohydrates)

Nuts (also fats)

Soy and tofu products

Fat

Fats have been given a bad name, but they too are an important part of our diet. They’re used by the body as energy, storage for vitamins, for production of hormones and as protection for our organs. There are different types of fats:

Saturated

These should be limited, but not necessarily avoided. If eaten in large amounts they can be bad for your heart health. They are found in:

Meat fat

Butter

Full fat dairy products

Coconut oil and products

Peanut oil, palm oil and cottonseed oil

Our occasional foods such as chips, biscuits and cake

Swapping to reduced-fat dairy, and trimming the fat off your meat before cooking it are good ways to reduce your saturated fat intake.

Unsaturated

We should aim to include more of these fats in our diet, as they have the opposite effect to saturated fats, and can be beneficial for your heart health. They are found in: